Springfield daily republic. [volume] (Springfield, O. [Ohio]) 1887-1888, 1887-10-07

cred with blood. The name Of the frs,
mate, who now went below with the cap
tain, was McLogan. The name Of the
second mate was Andrews He was Il
younger man than the others, and per.
haps had more heart, for after a bit
while Herbert had the wheel, he stopped
near him and observed:
The old man is little rough, but one
OF the best seamen out Of Glasgow You
complained too soon
But, Mr.. Andrews, what are We to do
for grub'' asked Herbert There ism t
man in the focastle Is can eat such
stuff"
We'll, it's not my lookout what the
owners furnish. Unless You men want
hi to pay You will turn to and make the
best Of it,
| That closed the conversation. Not a
man OF us spoke of mutiny or even the
slightest resistance 70 lawful authority
When our watch was up we turned in
and went To sleep. l, for one, cherished
the hope that the provisions would be bet
ter in the morning. The officers had only
TO taste them To realize that they were to-
tally unfit. and l hoped the captain would
| do this and thus do away with all cause
for further complaint. As the kids were
brought forward at breakfast time, how
ever, we scented the sinking beef long
before it reached us, and we found the
| biscuit and tea a. vile as ever Having
eaten nothing since the previous noon. and
all Of us being hearty men, You can imag
inc that we were sharp set. Not a man
| Of us, however. could swallow that food.
and the kids and pannikins were left
standing at the windlass for the cook To
Ia,L ;vh sI.,r
The men looked at each other with
troubled faces, but there was no threat of
mutiny. We went to our work on empty
stomachs, As also did the other watch.
and, though the officers knew it, not a
word was said. The men ehewetl an extra
quantity of tobacco. and hoped that noon
would soften the captain s heart.
Noon brought no change, and when
supper was served and We found the same
grub placed before us. the men broke out
with curses. II the food had been eat
able, don't you suppose that sailors. who
had been from twenty four to thirty
hours without eating q mouthful, would
have at least nibbled at it, am telling
You what l afterward made affidavit to.
Imade repeated attempts 20 worry down
some OF the meat, but each time il was re-
jected. Some of the men who got few
swallows Of the tea down were made
dreadfully sick. Again we went supper
less. but now the men began to assert
that no law of the high seas permitted a
captain TO starve his crew We would
wait until morning and. il the food was
not changed. something must be done.
am sure the captain expected something
TO occur that night. for he was frequently
on deck, and the three officers were more
than once in consultation. The cook had
reported, as we afterward learned, that
none Of the supper had been eaten, and
the captain had replied:
Well. the burned sojers will either eat
such grub as set ont, or live On their own
fat"
am telling You truthfully that not q
word of mutiny was whispered during the
night. We made no threats. and had no
plan. but Yet we all felt that the morning
would bring crisis Of some sort. Dur.
ing the night, in the case of both watches,
the officers were very abusive, and the |
men were struck or kicked without the |
shadow Of an excuse. When daylight |
came, and We began to scrub down. the |
breeze died quite away. and we lay be-
calmed. We were ut this time about 80 |
or 100 miles from the British coast. |
When it was time for breakfast both
watches were on deck. and as the men |
went to the cooks galley to receive their /
kids and pannikins ali three officers showed |
up on deck. l was at the wheel, and l |
saw that the captain and first mate had
their revOivers The kids were taken for
ward without word. The food had not
been changed, and the men pushed the
dishes away. II there was any growing
= couldn't hear it. The captain waited
about ten minutes, and then seeing that
the men were not going to eat, he told the
Becond mate to order them aft All came
In body, and all bore themselves respect
fully.
Look here, Herbert" said the captain,
the sailor who had acted as
spokesman on the previous occasion,
what is the matter with the grubs'
''lt's bad, sIr-unfit TO eat" replied the
man.
That is, you lazy lubbers have agree.
smong you to call it bad, and 70 make me
put into some portf'
'Sir, there's never a man Of us but
what is willing to stand for the voyage
md work our best, but the grub, sir, beg
ying your pardon, WAS spoiled long enough
before it came on board. Will you pleas,
inspect i, sir"
Not by damned sight, and now we'll
zee which end of this ship sails the other"
With that he rushed upon Herbert to
strike him with his loaded weapon. while
he mates seized Delaying pins and dashed
n 10 knock down As many men rs they
,ould. The sailors ran forward, and l
heard some Of them begging for mercy.
The officers followed them. evidently de-
ermined to wreak savage vengeance, and
I was only when driven to the windlass
hat the men turned. 1t was a case Of
elf defense. / could not well see what [
but heard pistol shots, savage
,ries, a great struggle, and, as it now
anne on a dead calm, left the wheel and
an forward. Az was over when got to
he foremast. The three officers were !.
lead OF dying, Herbert and another sailor
we're dead. and of the remainder of the
men at least five were seriously wounded.
The mutiny had not lasted above five
minutes. For a long time after reached
he bow the men stood looking around
hem without uttering a word. Then, at
asst. Yankee sailor named Ben LObdell,
who had a bullet in his left shoulder,
tood out a little from the rest and said:
MATES, we have been driven to mutiny
md murder. Aye, every man OF you
Knows We had to turn TO save our own
ives against those officers lying dead. 1t
las all come about through the bad grub. ,
shall now order the cook to prepare us
breakfast, and after that is eaten we shall i
onsult as TO what is to be done. Mean
:hhile, as in duty bound, will set a signal
# Distress ,
The steward got the flag from the locker {
n the cabin and it WAS properly set.
Then the hurts Of the wounded were {
ooked to, and by that time breakfast was I
eady- II was served in our dishes and
aten on deck, and not n man Of us had .
word to say. Just as We were finishing
he cook aud steward came out in com ,
'any and hoped we would spare thsiJ
ives. Ben got up and replied.
Don't take us for either mutineers or
nurderers. What has been done was {
'nly in self defense. The life OF every
h.~ -. g., l., I